In the Garden of Spite by Camilla Bruce

March 24, 2024

In the Garden of Spite by Camilla Bruce

Before Ted Bundy, before John Wayne Gacy, there was Belle Gunness, the infamous Black Widow of LaPorte. As a girl in Norway, Belle was beaten by her lover until she miscarried her unborn child. After emigrating to the U.S., Belle lived with her sister's family in Chicago in the middle of a large community of Norwegian immigrants. Tired of men's cruelty and also tired of being poor, Belle vowed to never be under a man's control again and that she would never again be poor, taking her revenge on the men of the world in a gruesome fashion.

Historical fiction based on the life and crimes of the Black Widow of LaPorte, Indiana, one of the first American serial killers. Her crime spree began in Chicago, then later she moved to a farm in Indiana, where she continued her bloody deeds. I had heard of Belle but didn't really know her story. This was another book for Women's History Month, this time about a truly notorious woman who proved that women can be just as evil as men. 

Belle Gunness and her three foster children